Chapter Four

Alyssa gulped nervously as she looked down. She was on the seventieth floor with her younger sister Alexia and her Father.

“ Take care of you sister. I'm very sorry.” The man said with tears falling down his face.

“ Daddy? Why are you crying? ” Alexia asked wiping the hot tears off his face. Her father held her hand and placed it on Alyssa's hand. “ Alexia, you should listen to your sister. She wants what's best for you.”

Alexia shook her head. “ But she refuses to share her toys with me and doesn't allow me to play with the neighbours ”

“ That's because they don't like you ” Alyssa said with a frown on her face

“Take my doll and don't play with the neighbours ” She handed her a stuffed toy and turned to their father.

“ Alyssa I will trust you with Alexis life. Do everything in your power to protect her even if it costs you your life. ” He kissed Alexia cheek fondly and stood up from his squatting position. He walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down at his children.

“ Stay safe” He said and left his body to fall backwards. The chilly night seemed to have become still. Alyssa let go of her sister's hand and ran to the edge where her father fell off from. She couldn't comprehend what had just happened so she decided to also jump down but was stopped by her sister's childish voice.

“ Ally can we get something to eat? I'm hungry”

“ Okay then. We will comeback for daddy” She said and Alexis nodded. They walked away from the rooftop unaware of how tragic their life would be since the fall of their Father.

**

Alexis stirred softly on the bed as her eyes fluttered open. It widened the more as she met herself in an unfamiliar room.  She quickly sat up and noticed her dress had been replaced by a yellow pajama. Fear gripped her making her think she had yet again made another mistake. She looked around hoping Quinn won't be present in his room. She wasn't ready to  face him knowing he would be really mad at her for entering his room and even going as far as sleeping in it. The head maid already warned her not to enter the room without Quinn's permission. Her obsidian eyes looked fearfully around the room. When she was sure it was safe, she quickly stood up from the bed and tiptoed noiselessly out of the room. As she placed her hand to open the bedroom door, her elbow hit a picture frame and it hit the floor with a loud crashing sound. Her heart skipped a bit. All she wanted was to quietly leave the room but the picture frame wanted otherwise. She glared at the picture frame that had its front facing the floor. She could only hope it wasn't broken so she bent down to confirm. She turned it upwards and found that the glass had already shattered to the floor. She pressed her lips together and turned her attention to the picture in the frame. She felt a bitter pain in her chest seeing the image of Quinn and Tina kissing. They looked so perfect like they were made for each other. She moved to pick the broken glasses on the floor when the door opened startling her. She lost balanced and her right palm ended up crushing the glasses on the floor. Quinn swiftly entered and squatted beside her, he quickly held her hands and let her away from the broken shards of glass.

“ You should have called one of the maids” He said lightly, staring at her bloody palm. He pressed a button on the wall and instructed a maid to bring the first aid kit. The maid arrived promptly and Quinn swiftly treated her hands like he was quite skilled at it. In no time, her hand was neatly wrapped with bandage.

“ I'm sorry for destroying the picture frame. It wasn't my intention to do so” She lowered her lashes and bit her lower lip waiting for him to lash out at her. After waiting for a while and didn't hear any sound from him, she finally found the courage to look at him. He appeared to be very mad about something. Thinking she was the cause, she tried to think of a way to make it up to him.

“ I promise to get another one on my way back from visiting Alexia” She said but his gaze was still very cold. *That's not the best option too right?*

“ How do I make it up to you? Is there something you want me do aside from replacing it?”

Much to her relief, his face calmed down and she saw mischievousness in it before it disappeared like it was never there in the first place.

“ If you really want to make it up to me, you have to learn to stop apologizing when you aren't at fault.” He said in a serious tone.

“ But I was in the wrong.” She argued looking at the direction the picture frame fell. It had already been cleared but she couldn't forget the image of Quinn kissing Tina.

“ Look, I'm the one at fault this time. I shouldn't have left any memory of us in our matrimonial home and I sincerely want to apologise to you. I'm very sorry Alyssa ” He said in a low voice.

She felt butterflies in her stomach hearing his sincere apology but she was quick to come to her senses. She was only borrowing Quinn for a while and after that, he would go back to Tina his long time girlfriend. She couldn't let herself become attached to him only to see him leave once the media's curiosity has been fully satisfied.

“ Get dressed.” He said and walked out. He was disappointed at himself for forgetting to take her feelings into consideration. She was just a little girl who just entered adulthood only to be bonded by a contract marriage with him. The least he could do was to make her feel comfortable and not neglected. That's the best he could do for her.

Alyssa took a deep breath trying to keep her feelings in check. She was only attracted to him since she had never very close with a mature man. She was sure that with time, when she has grown used to his presence, the attraction would turn weak.

The breakfast was eaten in total silence. Both of them avoiding each others gaze with different thoughts weighing on their minds.

When it was time for her to leave, Quinn offered to drop her off much to her surprise but she happily accepted his offer in order to save some cash. The little miser forgot she was married to Quinn Winters of the Winters family whose wealth couldn't be rivaled in the whole Nation. If Quinn were to know what was going on in her mind, he would have lost his mind.

Alyssa gave him a puzzled look when she noticed he would be the one driving.

“ John's mother is sick so I gave him permission to leave for a day” He explained and Alyssa nodded in understanding. Unsure of what to say, she looked out of the window. The ride was silent; in a very pleasant way. In no time, the car pulled to a stop in front of the hospital. Quinn handed the key to the valet and entered the hospital with Alyssa.

“ You....want to visit too?” She asked hoping to hear a positive reply from him.

Quinn nodded his head and looked around the hospital. She smiled at him and continued walking.

Quinn felt like he was struck by cupid arrow. It was the first time she smile genuinely and it looked very mesmerizing. The image of her bright smile became deeply engraved in the depth of his heart.

He walked beside her, his elbow occasionally bumping against her shoulder. He couldn't help but smile like an highschool student walking with his crush.

The elevator dinged and they got out of it. Alyssa led way to Alexia's room with Quinn following closely behind.

The eyes of the little girl in the bed shone brightly but then it dimmed and she looked away without sparing her sister a glance.

Alyssa bit her lower lip and moved closer to her younger sister.

“ Hey! Can't you at least pretend to be happy to see me? Do you know much I  missed you?”

Alexia rolled her eyes and scoffed “ Why do I need to know? And for your information, I'm not happy to see you. Now you can go. I have Mason by my side. Who needs a sister like you?”